Arteta must win trophies this season - otherwise Arsenal boss will never recover

Arsenal cannot blow it from here - but the blame will be on Mikel Arteta if they finish empty-handed after letting Manchester City back into the Premier League title race

It would be difficult for Mikel Arteta to carry on if Arsenal finish the season empty-handed.

From a position of strength - a nine-point lead at the top - to surrender the title would be Arsenal’s Devon Loch moment. They had the quadruple in their sights but blew the Carabao Cup, the FA Cup and, while they are still in the Champions League, they are never going to win it unless they rediscover some form.

For everything Arteta has done to rebuild Arsenal into a force, if they do not win the title it would be one of the biggest failures in Premier League history.

Arteta’s total transfer spend in his six-year reign is nearly £1billion and no club has spent this much and given up so much value in the transfer market and not delivered major trophies.

Everyone was queueing up at the start of the season to say Arsenal had the best squad. If that is true then Arsenal failing to win a trophy must be on the manager and his squad management.

This is not about Arsenal getting rid of Arteta.

He has another year left on his contract, the club would not sack him and would probably give him a new deal. But the reality is he would become a busted flush.

Arteta would be a joke figure among rival fans - “the chorus of “Second Again, Ole Ole” would be unbearable - and his own supporters are getting fed-up. They booed the team off against Bournemouth on Saturday. That is the match-going fan. Not just social media.

Every time Arteta talks about ambitions and targets in the future, it would feel like empty words. There would be a caveat under every headline. Yeah, pull the other one.

How on earth would he lift the players? If they fail to get over the line then they would be cast as bottlers who lack any sort of mental strength and leadership.

It is on Arteta now. You are judged on success and the club and fans have backed him to the hilt. They have even stomached some pretty woeful football this season in the name of control and ensuring they get over the line. And if they don’t then even that was not worth it.

No-one can dispute the job he has done. The club was in such a mess when he took over in December 2019. He won the FA Cup in his first season. He rebuilt the squad, the relationship with the fans and made the club contenders again.

But this is Arsenal. A huge club. This is the longest they have gone post-war without winning the title. They are not some plucky underdog.

If Arteta cannot get them over the line this season then he never will. They had a glorious chance and yet it feels as if they are bottling it.

You can sense the nerves. Are the players listening to him anymore? There was a clip on social media of Granit Xhaka doing a post match interview talking about “showing balls” during his time at Arsenal. Who is going to do that now? There’s not many.

Arsenal need their captain Martin Odegaard to step up. If there is a pain in his knee then maybe he needs to play through it. Arsenal could seriously do with Bukayo Saka and Jurrien Timber declaring themselves for Manchester City next Sunday.

They need characters. They need heart and defiance. If they win at City next Sunday then the title is back on. But Arsenal look a team who have run out of ideas and energy.

Again, surely that is on Arteta. Is he overtraining them? Is that the reason why they always run out of steam and energy in April? Now they are dropping like flies.

Arne Slot has many issues this season but last season he won the title because of his squad management. He tapered down training from January and got all of this big players on the pitch.

Arsenal’s squad rotation consists of bringing in the back-ups when first choices get injured and resting and rotating for the domestic cups. Fat lot of good that did them.

Viktor Gyokeres was the big money signing for £64m. But he looks like he is carrying a ten tonne weight on his back. He looks miles off a top level striker. Who is to blame for his underwhelming signing? Andrea Berta and Arteta even controls the sporting director. Who is challenging Arteta?

Few players have suffered more than Martin Zubimendi. He looks like a player who is not enjoying his football. He is a world class talent and, a few months back, he was being lauded as one of the signings of the season.

Now he looks bereft of confidence. He looks like he is playing with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He looks shot to bits and looks completely gone.

In reality, you could say that for far too many members of the squad.